Privacy Policy for WWW.USG.EDU

This Privacy Policy sets forth the University System of Georgia’s (“USG”) policy with respect to the gathering and dissemination of information we obtain from you on the web site for the University System of Georgia located at www.usg.edu (“Site”).

USG is the operator of this Site, although software, hosting and other functions may be provided by third parties (“Service Providers”). This Privacy Policy describes the type of information USG and its Service Providers collect from visitors to this Site, what we do with that information, and how visitors can update and control the use of information provided on this Site. This policy does not necessarily describe information collection policies on other sites, such as separate sites operated by our Service Providers that we do not control. Many of the resources linked from this Web site are not maintained by the USG. The USG cannot monitor all linked resources, only those pages which fall directly within the USG world-wide web structure. The USG is in no way responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these linked resources and the statements, views, and opinions expressed therein are neither endorsed by nor do they necessarily reflect the opinion of the USG.

This policy may be changed from time to time and without further notice. Your continued use of the Site after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new terms. If you do not agree to abide by these new terms or any future terms, please do not use the Site. This site is not directed to children under 13 years of age, and children under 13 years of age shall not use this Site to submit any personal information about themselves.

Information We Gather

When you visit the Site, we may collect certain routing information, including, but not limited to, the Internet Protocol address of your originating Internet Service Provider, and information provided by “cookies” stored on your hard drive. We may also collect aggregate information about the use of the Site, including, but not limited to, which pages are most frequently visited, how many visitors we receive daily, and how long visitors stay on each page. We may disclose and publish aggregate information on an aggregate basis to any party through any means, but such aggregate information will not disclose any personal information. Any information collected through this Site may also be used in aggregate by system administrators in the administration of the Site. You may be required to provide certain personal information in order to access various features and information on the Site. Such information may include, among other things, your name, address, and phone number. If you do not want to provide such information, you may choose not to access those features of the Site. Any personal information that you choose to provide through the Site will be protected in accordance with the provisions of this Privacy Policy.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of data that may be stored by a Web browser. Cookies are often used to remember information about preferences and pages you have visited. For example, when you visit some sites on the Web you might see a “Welcome Back” message. The first time you visited the site a cookie may have been set on your computer; when you return, the cookie is read again. You can refuse to accept cookies, can disable cookies, and remove cookies from your hard drive. However, if you do not accept cookies from the Site, you may lose access to the Site or experience decreased performance of the Site.

Security and Accuracy of Confidential Information

The USG does its best to ensure that the personal information obtained from you is accurate. You may review the information saved or submitted via the Site at any time up to the point when it is purged from the flat file or database. In the event that there is an error in your personal information, we will correct the information on your request.

While we strive to protect your personal information by encryption and other means, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of the information you transmit to us, and if you choose to use the Site, you do so at your own risk.

Please keep in mind that the information disclosed by you on our Site in certain forums – for example, information, including personal information, that you may provide to others on bulletin boards, through blogs or in chat rooms that may be available on the Site – can be collected and used by visitors to the Site.

Sharing of Information

The USG is committed to maintaining the privacy and accuracy of your personal information. We do not actively share personal information gathered from the Site. However, some information collected from the Site may be subject to the Georgia Open Records Act. This means that while we do not actively share information, in some cases we may be compelled by law to release information gathered from the Site. Georgia public universities also comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits the release of education records without student permission. For more details on FERPA, currently enrolled students should see their institution’s catalog.

Questions

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent or if you wish to correct information held by the USG, please contact us.